Democrats Announce For 117th and 119th House District Races

Democrat Jonathan Wallace announced Monday that he will seek to regain his seat as the District 119 Representative to the Georgia House.

Incumbent Republican Marcus Wiedower defeated Wallace in the 119th in 2018 after Wallace defeated Wiedower and two other Republican candidates in a special election for the 119th seat in 2017.

Both Wallace and Wiedower are from Oconee County, and the 119th is about evenly split between Oconee and Clarke counties.

Athens educator and community activist Mokah Jasmine Johnson has announced her intent to run as a Democrat in the 117th House District and has scheduled a campaign launch for 5 to 6 p.m. on Jan. 18 at Athens City Hall.

The 117th seat is now held by Republican Houston Gaines, also of Athens. Gaines also was elected in 2018, defeating Democrat Deborah Gonzalez, who defeated Gaines in a special election in 2017.

Gonzalez is running for District Attorney in the Western Judicial Circuit, consisting of Oconee and Clarke counties.

The 117th is dominated by Clarke County, but it also includes three of Oconee’s 12 precincts and parts of Jackson and Barrow counties.

No candidates have announced as challengers to Gaines and Wiedower in the Republican primary, and only Wallace and Johnson have announced for the Democratic nomination. The party primaries are in May.

For more on this story, please go to Oconee County Observations.